Three ministers oversee crackdown on Poipet call center gangs

A team led by three ministers have surveyed officials’ efforts to cut off telephone and internet access, as well as illegal entry and exit via natural border, in four areas.

Defence Minister Phumtham Wechayachai told the press that officials have reduced the height of utility poles and installed equipment to ensure that only people in Thailand can access telephone and internet.

Officials have been instructed to conduct telecommunication signal inspection once a week to ensure no signal leakage to Cambodia, he said.

He confirmed that the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission has removed telecommunication cables with no operators, leaving only 29 cables that have owners.

Any cables supplying a 25-storey building in Poipet, notorious for being a call centre scam hub, will be cut, he said. He added that operators of those cables will be punished for supporting call centre scams. 

Phumtham said he would evaluate the operation outcome again. Telecommunication cuts had a greater impact on scammers in Poipet compared to electricity disruptions, as Cambodia can generate its power, he said.

Meanwhile, DES Minister Prasert Jantararuangtong added that two telecommunication operators will be summoned to ensure efficiency in disrupting telecommunication signal transmission to Cambodia.